Author Stephen King is a staple in the crime, horror, and fantasy fiction genres. His New York Times bestselling books have amassed numerous awards and film adaptations. What are King’s highest-earning book-to-film projects and net worth in 2020?
A glimpse at Stephen King’s work
The Portland, Maine resident who once worked as a teacher before hitting bestseller lists doesn’t only have work published under his own name, but also that of the pseudonym Richard Bachman.
Readers who’ve followed King’s work from his first horror novel in 1973, Carrie, all the way to the most recent iteration of IT, are familiar with the commercial success and critical acclaim.
According to Biography.com, King gained notoriety after the success of Carrie, allowing him to become a full-time writer. The first adaptation came after with Sissy Spacek playing the leading role. It was the first of many, including Salem’s Lot, The Shining, Firestarter, Cujo, and IT.
As for the work under Bachman — which he used to publish multiple books in the same year — came Rage, The Long Walk, and The Running Man are among the first.
King’s work, such as The Shining, is still referenced to this day, thanks to on-screen performances by Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall. Later came the Kathy Bates and Richard Caan film, Misery, in which Bates won an Oscar for her role.
Fast forward to The Shawshank Redemption, The Stand, and The Green Mile, which had superstars such as Morgan Freeman and Tom Hanks. Movies aside, King has also written for TV in Kingdom Hospital and Under the Dome.
While many might assume King is ready to slow down, he continued in later years pushing out books with more adaptations to follow. In recent years, Mr. Mercedes began airing on the Audience Network while a new adaptation of IT, Doctor Sleep, Pet Sematary, and IT Chapter Two were produced.
So far, the “king of horror” has 61 novels published with no signs of stopping. According to the man himself via Celebrity Net Worth, his favorite books aren’t necessarily so grim with Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as one, and the allegory (and brutal) Lord of the Flies to round things out.
King’s highest-grossing film
Just before the newest adaptation of the IT chronicles, King’s highest-grossing film was the 1999 film, The Green Mile, which starred Hanks. In total, it earned $232.17 million in box office revenue, according to a Forbes 2017 report. The movie received four Academy Awards, “including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor for Michael Clarke Duncan.”
The Shining sat in the second spot at $145.47 million and Carrie followed at $141.07 million.
However, since the release of new King adaptations, The Green Mile has taken a backseat. A later Forbes report in 2019 revealed a new winner. 2017’s IT became the highest-grossing film of King’s entire career. The movie earned “$327.5 million domestically and $700.4 million worldwide.”
The latest top three puts The Green Mile in second place a, with IT: Chapter Two following closely behind at $190.5 worldwide, which accrued after only four days.
What is King’s net worth in 2020?
Considered the many horror books King has written that have gone on to massive success — and the films made thereafter — you’d expect a pretty high net worth.
Currently, King’s net worth sits at a comfortable $500 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. He’s sold over 350 million copies of his novels, including six non-fiction books and those under his pseudonym.
The site also reported that King’s initial advance for the Carrie manuscript was just $2,500. The paperback companion later sold for $400,000. King also owns multiple homes with his wife, Tabitha.
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